The best chapter is chapter seven on success. Not everyone can succeed and not everyone wants to. This is an apt corrective to the idea that we should be weary of hearing: that anyone can accomplish anything.

Chapter eight is an amusing chapter on the necessity of petty artificialities. Chapter nine is about contentment, from a Humanist, not a Christian, perspective. There is also a chapter on marriage, and another on forming a library. The bookman buys according to need, not according to what a seller has bound in a series. By series he means a series of classics, not the works of one man.

Arnold Bennett (1867-1931) confesses to reading for pleasure merely, and not very much. This is why 'Mental Efficiency' is not as deep as so many other books from his era that touch on similar subjects. It is much better than self-help books that have been written since, however.

The style is above average, and often witty. "The wisdom is Johnson's," he says once, "but I flatter myself on the italics."

Ruth Golding is the favorite reader of so many listeners because her voice is expressive and it always rises to the occasion of the book she reads, no matter how erudite it is.

This book provides hints for a better life and successful personal growth. The book covers the topic of mental efficiency, expressing one's individuality, breaking with the past, settling down in life, marriage, books, success, the petty artificialities and the secret of content. Ruth Golding did it again and as well as usual! Many thanks for your valuable reading.